The first episode of Jonathan Miller’s “A Brief History of Disbelief” just aired on New York City public television. What a treat to see this subject treated on TV in a thoughtful way!

What struck me most about the first episode was Miller’s personal position. He described himself as a thoroughly secular person, for whom religion has always been “alien.” This gives him a special, outside perspective on the subject. But I wonder whether this will be a help or a hindrance in connecting with American viewers, who tend to be either currently religious or formerly religious.

I think the series is very insightful and I learned a lot through watching it. I think Jonathan Millers outside perspective on the situation both as a lifelong atheist and British citizen gives his take on America welcomed objectivity. He hasn’t been brought up in an overly religious country which I think viewers will recognize. Once this series airs I think CFI or some other organization should invest in creating their own documentary on atheism in America today. This is a great time for the humanist movement with authors such as Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, and Dennet making their mark with bestselling books and CFI should take advantage of the momentum and release a documentary showing the skeptic/humanist/freethought movement in America. I think that would be a special that Americans would enjoy and watch even more than “A Brief History of Disbelief.”
I would like to applaud Jonathan Miller’s documentary, I think it was great that CFI and other organizations were able to bring this to American television finally.